It’s a fact of life for most DJs – they are going to get a lot of requests. Not all of them are going to make sense, many might be rude, and often there is no way to satisfy the person making the request without ruining the vibe you have created on the dancefloor.

Some DJs take the approach of a blanket “no” to all requests. Others find that saying “yes” to everything and then just carrying on regardless is the best approach.

Personally, I think that unless you are a ticket-seller of a name, where people have parted with their money specifically to see you and your choices, it goes with the territory. Doesn’t mean you have to say yes to requests, of course, but I think it’s generally best practice to at least listen to them – you never know, occasionally people have great ideas, or make you aware of really good songs you wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.

One other fringe benefit of taking requests in the age of social media – sometimes you get absolutely FANTASTIC content to post during or after your gigs! Once you can laugh about things like this, it helps move it away from being an annoyance or source of stress!

Here’s a selection of my greatest hits from over the years…

Sometimes people don’t really have much to add – this is a surprisingly common genre of request, the request that isn’t actually requesting anything.

“Do you take requests?” Sure… “Great, we don’t know this music.” That’s not a request. “So you take requests?” Yes, if they’re suitable. “I’ve never heard this song before” 

“Do you take requests?” That depends on the request… “OK – so what’s a good song?”

“Can you play something I know?” What do you know? “Everything. But not this”

“Can you play some….. Oh, I don’t know?” *hopeful look*

“Can you play that song. They’re playing it a lot in Ibiza.” You’re going to have to be more specific… “And on the radio”

Other times, they know what they want, but they are struggling to express that in a useful way

“Have you got that song? It’s by a blonde lady”

“Have you got that song with the beat?”

“I heard a great song on the radio on the way in to town tonight, have you got that?”

“Have you got the one by the black guy? You know… wotsisname?”

Sometimes the requests are quite specific, while requiring a bit of thought and knowledge from the DJ…

“Have you got something for someone who’s with someone but wants to fuck someone else?”

“Play something a bank manager would like, you know, like 50 Cent or Lil Wayne or something.”

Occasionally they make it easy for you, and it’s basically a compliment.

“For the next song can you play one a bit like this one?”

Other times they are being less complimentary…

“I’ve been here an hour, I have to say I really don’t like what you are playing.”

You get a window into what music has slipped out of the public consciousness

“When are you going to play normal music?” I think James Brown is classed as normal music “Who’s James Brown?”

Occasionally you get a real treat, such as a friendly message on a napkin – I received this the same year that I competed in the World Final of Red Bull 3style…

More common these days than the napkin thing is the message on a phone – I’ve had some doozies with this, including a 20 minute argument with a woman who was CONVINCED that Avicii should be getting blasted at a hip-hop event…

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But very occasionally you get a massive confidence boost

“Do you take requests?” Depends on the request. “I request you continue doing what you are doing, because it’s amazing”

As you can see, whatever tricky moments you are getting in your DJ booths, DJs all over the world are experiencing similar! The key is to laugh them off when you can, keep it friendly and positive, and when you need to, make a note of the really good ones so you can share it with your mates later on – that certainly helps you get through those frustrating times with a difficult requester!

Here’s a couple of classic interactions that many DJs will be able to relate to